Saturday, March 4, 2017

Many airsoft BB gun users
take part in organized skirmishes - aka fake battles and survival scenarios. A
lot of people don’t believe in ‘playing’ with guns or allowing youngsters to
play with guns or take part in skirmish activities as they believe it’s setting
a bad example. However, using airsoft BB guns
and taking part in skirmishes can teach you a lot about being prepared and
surviving in any situation.

Honing your shooting skills

You may think that in real
life you will never need to know how to shoot a target, but at one point or
another, you may well need to be able to do so. Its one thing shooting targetsat a shooting range; it’s completely another shooting a moving target during a
skirmish, which is why skirmishes are so useful when it comes to honing your
shooting skills. When it comes to surviving in the wilderness, being able to
shoot a moving target - ideally, at a distance away - is crucial. Proving that
skirmishes are an ideal way to do this, many police forces and military forces
use BB guns and skirmishes to help new recruits hone their shooting skills.

Learning to work as part of
a team

Another important lesson
that skirmishes can teach you is working successfully as part of a team. If
you’re someone who watches survival films or war films even, then you will know
that when it comes to survival, teamwork is often crucial. Skirmishes teach you
how to not only look after yourself but also your team members, as well as how
to obey orders and do as you’re told. If you are put in a leading position,
skirmishes also teach you how to lead a team and determine who does what role
within it. When it comes to survival (and preparation), being a good delegate
is important - this is a skill that leading a skirmish team will allow you to
develop.

How to stay hidden

Just like in real wars, the
key to surviving when under attack is being able to stay hidden. Taking part in
skirmishes teaches you how to stay hidden by camouflaging yourself. It also
teaches you how to pick the opportune moment to reveal yourself and how to
determine when that is. Talking about careful thinking, it’s also crucial to
learn to use ammunition wisely, which is another key thing that skirmishes
teach you. You only have a certain amount of ammunition and have to learn to
make it last, if you’re going to survive, that is.

Adapting to different
environments

Last but not least,
skirmishes teach you how to successfully adapt to play in different
environments. Sometimes matches will be held outdoors in woodland areas other
times they will be held in indoor areas like old malls. If you’re going to
survive whatever is thrown at you, you need to know how to adapt to different
environments and use your airsoft skills successfully in each of them. They say
that practice makes perfect, so the more skirmishes in different environments
you compete in, the better.

Airsoft BB guns and
skirmishes can teach you a lot about being prepared and surviving anything,
from a Zombie apocalypse to a terrorist takeover.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

We’ve all made mistakes before, but some of us are still making
mistakes that we don’t even realize we’re making. Our bug out bag is sitting in
the corner and we think we’re ready to go if anything were to happen, but
there’s really so much more you could be doing to be completely prepared. Here
are 6 things to start doing now.

1.) Gather your team

You might decide that turning your back on mankind and trying
to survive completely alone is the best idea, but there’s no way you can do it
all on your own. Find those closest to you who you trust and want to survive
and create a team. In the end of the world, having
others on your side will make your load lighter and chances of survival higher.
When you’ve assembled your team, figure out who is strong in what areas and
assign tasks. If you don’t have someone who is skilled in a certain area you
believe is vital, either find someone who is to join or have someone learn how
to do it.

2.) Learn new skills

Even the most prepared survivalist doesn’t know everything they
need to survive. Being skilled in all kinds of different areas will help you be
even more prepared for the worst. Skills like hunting, defense, building
shelter, and lifesaving techniques are important for every advanced prepper.
Taking online courses like ACLS recertification and canning classes make
learning new skills easy.

3.) Practice, Practice,
Practice

When a disaster comes, you don’t want to be running around like
a chicken with it’s head cut off. You want to be prepared for the worst, but
how do you do that? Practice. Get your team together and start
running through drills so everyone knows exactly what they need to do when the
dreaded day comes. Practicing won’t only help teach everyone what is expected
of them, but will help you figure out what areas still need to be prepped.
You’ll hit roadblocks in your practice run that you can fix before a disaster
hits and you’ll be that much more prepared.

4.) Take a breather

Take a minute to just think and relax. You don’t want to always
be uptight and worrying about what could go wrong. Being mentally stable is a
key to being a successful prepper. Not focusing on being prepared will help you
get back to the basics and figure out what is really important to you. Once you
get back to work, this will help you be refocused and know what areas need
work.

5.)Bug in

We all have our bug out plan, but what happens if we get
trapped in or it isn’t safe to go outside? You need to be prepared to bug in,
or stay in place and survive, and know when you should bug out or bug in.
Certain emergencies will require you to bug out and certain ones will require
you to bug in. Either way you should be prepared, but a lot of us only think
about bugging out. We don’t have the necessary supplies or plans to stay in
place. Create a plan for staying in place that includes security, shelter, communication,
and how you will get food once your supply runs out. Keep a stash of food close
by to be prepared to bug in. Here are some other tips for bugging in.

6.) Check your supplies

Things go bad and we don’t think about it. You don’t want to be
stuck in a disaster zone when nothing works. Checking all your supplies periodically will
avoid this disaster of it’s own. Make sure your car is still in good shape.
Check your food storage occasionally to make sure everything hasn’t expired.
The best tip I’ve heard when checking your supplies is check it all yourself.
You can’t just assume they will work when you need them and someone else might
not like some of your supplies. If you check everything, you’ll know it works
and you’ll know if it works for you.

We all make mistakes when we’re prepping for a disaster, but
there are some we can easily avoid. If you start implementing the above tips,
the day the world ends will go a lot smoother for you and your family.

Monday, November 7, 2016

There’s a new trend
emerging, but it’s not one that’ll have you visiting clothing stores. Natural
calamities are hitting places all over the world – occurring at a rate never
seen before. The chances of you being next are at the highest they’ve ever
been, and you best prepare. For this, you have the bug-out bag.

Bug-out bags should contain
everything you need for at least 72 hours of evacuation from a disaster site.
Keep that in mind when you go over the following list of essentials found in
every bug-out bag.

1. Water

Ah, the stuff of life.
Science says you can last weeks without food, but can die from dehydration in a
matter of days. Bring at least a liter for every day you expect to remain in
evacuation per person. In that case, have a minimum of three liters per person ready. Store your water in sturdy containers just to be safe, too.
If in case it turns out you hadn’t brought enough water, having water purification tablets ready should
do the trick.

2. Food

Canned goods and dehydrated
meals in plastic containers and paper
bags are ideal over fresh food for a lot of reasons. For one, they require
little to no preparation – something you probably won’t have the resources for
in an evacuation site. They also have a prolonged shelf life (or, in this case,
bag life), which you’ll need when you can’t access refrigeration. To add, the
cans could also be used for other purposes throughout your evacuation. Prepare
some food preparation instruments
like a knife, although that could easily be substituted by the more useful Swiss knife.

3. First Aid

Accidents can happen at any
time, and even more so when disaster strikes. Your bug-out bag should contain
basic first aid, including bandages,
povidone iodine, adhesives, tweezers,vitamin tablets
and your prescription medicines. Also
consider putting in some antibiotics
like cephalexin, ciprofloxacin and metronidazole. These handle all kinds of
nasty infections you’ll be prone to in an evacuation.Your bug-out bag should
also have some benadryl in case of
allergies. Not everyone may have these ready, so be open to sharing your aid
with strangers. Who knows? You may even find yourself on the receiving end.

4. Zip ties

Zip ties already have so
many functions in regular, everyday life, yet they prove even more useful for
evacuation purposes. These can be used to restrain objects in cases of strong
winds, restrain people in times of danger or panic, hold together different
materials to keep warm or expand your shelter, serve as a temporary tourniquet
when a proper one can’t be made – the list goes on.

5. Personal hygiene materials

Getting struck by disaster
is no excuse to let yourself go. Have the basics like tissue, soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Bringing a razor serves both purposes of grooming and
self-defense.

6. Self-defense

Should supplies become
scarce or you encounter any danger (let’s hope not), you’ll be glad you packed
something to protect you and your loved ones with. Rifles are good for hunting
too in case food runs short.A .22 caliber rifle
seems to be the rifle of choice in this case.

7. Alternative power supply

When you’re bugging out,
chances are there won’t be a readily available power supply. It’s a good thing
technology has alternative, renewable solutions for generating electricity. Get
yourself a crank power charger or
even one that runs on solar power. The latter would, obviously, not be ideal in
a hurricane situation. More specifically, there are also emergency radios
available that run on crank power.

8. Fire-starter items

At home, you cook, warm up,
and need light. Evacuation is no different as these are essentials. There is,
after all, a reason the discovery of fire propelled human evolution. Pack some
waterproof matches, lighters, maybe even a can of butane. That last one will be
especially helpful in the case of a zombie apocalypse as it makes a good
makeshift fire bomb.

9. Light source

Again, no power means no
light, and that becomes an especially pronounced problem come night time. A torch with a hand crank is ideal, but
isn’t always available. Battery-powered should do just fine, but remember to
pack extra batteries in that case.
There are also some solar-powered lamps
available in the market. Most of these things can be found in the camping
section or appliance section of most department stores.

10. Clothes

Don’t bring your whole
wardrobe. Remember that a bug out bag is ideally good for only three days. Go
for smaller, lighter garments like your average t-shirts, shorts, and
the like. Extra underwear and socks are good, too. Should these run
out, you could rinse them out at a nearby water supply, but let’s not hope it
gets to that. And, make sure the water used for laundry isn’t meant for
drinking. Come on.

11. Shelter

Other than having shelter
for the sake of shelter, this also provides safety for you, your loved ones and
your belongings. You’ll also need to be well-rested to stay alert – of utter
importance in times of calamity. There are several compact tent variants for you to choose from. Also make sure you have on
you some tarp and ground pads.

12. Survival manual

There are some thing you
just can’t be too prepared for, and being prepared entails covering every possible
scenario. Survival manuals will provide the necessary know-how for sticky
situations and should your evacuation level up to a survival scenario.

The rule of thumb in packing
your bug-out bag is to expect for the best while preparing for the worst. You
know your area and its people better than any website, and should use that
knowledge in stocking up. Should disaster strike, you’ll find these items to be
more than useful for your evacuation.

Friday, February 12, 2016

The
true costs of living off the grid are a lot more than you would imagine.
While the dream of being energy independent is a worthy goal, the costs
associated with off the grid living may not be a feasible solution. With
limited resources and even a more limited budget, the majority of people may be
better off using a hybrid solution.

While we often complain about the utility services we
receive, it is easy to forget that the costs for maintaining that service comes
at a higher price than we realize. When going totally off the grid, the
majority of these costs for maintenance and upkeep will shift from a utility
service to you. Having a backup system in place to in case your current
services are interrupted may be a better option. It is also important to
remember that sheltering in place will generally be your best option in all but
the most extreme circumstances.

The Hybrid Solution

While I would prefer to be totally off the grid, it is not
economically feasible in my case. Your income can severely limit monetary
resources to accomplish off the grid goals but can be done if you use a
combination of current resources with good backup options in place. The best
place to start is with satisfying your basic needs.

1.) Shelter

Normally your home will be the first and best option for
shelter. There is a chance that it may become temporarily uninhabitable due to
storm damage or other problems. While repairs are being made, even a simple
storage shed can solve your needs for temporary shelter. In my case, I have a
12 X 20 storage shed that has a simple solar setup (approximately $600) that
provides light and electricity independent of the grid. It also has a couple of
sleeping lofts and is well insulated. If necessary, in an emergency it could
act as a secondary shelter.

2.) Water

Water will be an absolute necessity. Drilling your own water
well may be impractical and extremely costly. It may also be prohibited by your
local utility. Fortunately, the simple collection of rainwater can solve most
of your water needs. A rainwater catchment system (approximately $500) combined
with a good filtration system can solve most of your water needs. In my case,
our monthly average of 3 inches of rainfall can completely fill all our water
storage barrels and provide us in excess of 500 gallons each month.

3.) Auxiliary Power

There is still a need for temporary power in order to keep
certain appliances properly functioning. Your refrigerator and freezer won’t
keep your food adequately without a continued source of power. In my case, I
keep a small portable gas generator (approximately $400 + fuel) to use for just
such an occasion. If a major power outage of any lengthy duration occurs, I can
keep my appliances functioning long enough to cook and eat the food items they
contain.

4.) Cooking

There are several other priorities that also need to be
addressed in order to have off the grid backup for your current utility
services. The easiest and probably the most affordable sources for heating and
cooking needs are propane and wood. Gas and charcoal grills or wood stoves are
affordable, require minimal maintenance and work extremely well in an off the
grid or emergency situation. Most people quite often have one or both already
available for use (I have both...can’t have too many backups).

5.) Heating

Small propane heaters ($200) can also provide emergency heat
if needed during colder weather and are usually extremely portable. Most can
even be used indoors with proper ventilation. You may even have a fireplace in
your home that can provide an auxiliary heat source.

You don’t have to live off grid but can use simple and low
cost options to provide alternatives to help you maintain your lifestyle in the
event of an emergency.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Summer temperatures in Texas can get a little warm. I love my Tervis in the office, but it was just not convenient for my mountain bike. I decided to put the Camelbak Big Chill to the test.

For fun, I rounded up some of my other water bottles to get them in on the action. They were not all the same size bottles, so I used a 16 oz cup to place the same amount of ice in each bottle. I only placed ice in the bottles and just measured how long it took for the ice to melt in each bottle.

At the end of 1.5 hours, ice was still visible in all the bottles. The single wall stainless steel dropped first. Then, my basic water bottle melted. An hour later, my non insulated Nagalene and Stanley were done. Not surprisingly, the two insulated bottles were the only ones still with ice.

The Camelbak Big Chill made 4.5 hours before the ice had all melted. It gave out while the Tervis still had several ice cube remnants visible.

The test started at 11:00 AM and outside temperatures reached into the mid 90's. The Camelbak Big Chill will not replace my Tervis around the BBQ pit, but it will definitely be my companion on my mountain bike excursions. It might even replace my day hike water bottle.

Performed a quick field test on some oak firewood in the backyard. Smaller oak limbs(4-6 inches in diameter) were cut in half easily with both SOG axes. The largest piece(10-12 inches in diameter) the SOG Tomahawk was definitely easier, but the SOG Fasthawk did the job as well. In addition, I pruned some small limbs(4-6 inches in diameter) off trees. Again, I could not find a significant difference in performance between them.

I found the compact size of the SOG Fasthawk to be worth the slight sacrifice in performance over the SOG Tomahawk. The Fasthawk will be allocated to my EDC(Every Day Carry) and the Tomahawk will find a home in my BOB(Bug Out Bag.)

Monday, July 13, 2015

Mother Nature offers a full spectrum of challenges on nearly every outing. Outdoor enthusiasts must prepare for possible obstacles or suffer the consequences.

A favorite is always water crossings. Don water shoes and splash around, or use trekking poles to help balance across rocks and logs? Always judge water crossings carefully as these can spell disaster if not done with care.

Weather dominates preparation for most trips. Always research the climate and patterns in the area visiting. Mountains require sunscreen and sunglasses due to higher elevations and increased sun exposure. However, a rain jacket was also packed to cover the common summer rain showers. Mother Nature blessed me on this outing with some free marble size hail along with the rain.

The Forest Service and volunteers do tremendous work in trail maintenance. However, one must always be ready for recent obstacles left by Mother Nature. Exercise caution in choosing to simply step over or go around.

Mother Nature can provide changing conditions on nearly a daily basis. Heavy rains from a previous day converted an easy trail into a rock hopping mud festival. Surprisingly, I enjoyed both.

Even Mother Nature's spectacular scenery offers interesting challenges. The mosquitoes in this area were so numerous that I can't believe they aren't visible in the photo. I'm glad the bug repellent kept them at bay while I snapped the photo.

Mother Nature creates the wonders that make outings worth the trip. With proper preparation and research, you can make sure your outing is enjoyable no matter what nature throws at you.

Disaster and Weather Information

Reference Material

Financial Information

Preppin' Tips - DIY

An expedient oxygen absorber for a 5 gallon storage container can be made by placing a golf ball size piece of steel wool and a tablespoon of salt inside a paper napkin and placing it in the container. The salt will absorb the residual moisture and the steel wool will naturally absorb the oxygen.

Preppin' Tips - Recipes

Make Your Own Electrolyte Beverage (Gatorade, Pedialyte, etc.)

To one quart of water add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 8 teaspoons of granulated sugar. Thoroughly mix all ingredients together.

This will replace electrolytes lost by the body due to dehydration caused by diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating, etc. A package of Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, etc. may be added to enhance the flavor and color.

Moon Phases

Blog Archive

Labels

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

Readers

DISCLAIMER

All the information on this website is intended for entertainment use only and in no way should be considered professional advice of any kind. You are solely responsible for the use or misuse of any information on this website.